Container



F. C. CLARK March 26,V 1935.

CONTAINER Filed June 9, 1935 ,2,73% Mii/hw Patented Mar. 26., 1935UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER Application June 9, 1933, SerialNo. 675,075

4 Claims.

l eically the invention relates to bottles or equivalent containers madeof fiber and treated with an oil-proof lining so as to preventabsorption ofv the oil by the material of the container.

It is an object of the invention to provide an oil bottle which can becheaply and easily made, which can hold lubricating oil, grease, orother oleaginous compounds without loss, which will drain quickly whenit is desired to empty the contents, which will be sufficiently tough tostand a reasonable amount of rough handling, and which when once usedcannot be used again.

In selling lubricating oil at retail for automobiles at fillingstations, one-quart glass jars having spouts are frequently used fordispensing lubricating oil. Oil is purchased' by the q'uart and isemptied directly into the crank cases of automobile engines from theseglass jars. By reason of the viscosity of the oil and its tendency toelink to the smooth inner surface of the glass jar, a c onsiderablepercentage of the oil is retained in the jar even when the Jar is heldinverted for a considerable length of time, especially in cold weather.The purchaser has no guarantee that the particular type or brand of oilin the jar is as represented, since the jar can be, and generally is,refilled for subsequent use.

It is an object of the present invention to supply a container whichwill drain a higher percentage of oil in a given time than will a glassbottle of the same capacity, which cannot be refilled after it has beenemptied, and which can .be manufactured cheaply enough to permit itsbeing thrown awayV after a single use. To this end I provide a pulpfiber container suitably shaped for the purpose, such container beinglight in weight and capable of economical manufacture. While theinvention is not limited thereto, I preferably employ a seamlesscontainer so that'there will be no crimped joints to work loose. I coatthe container on its interior surface with a solution or mixture whichforms a flexible lm of oil-proof material which is anchored to thefibrous material of the container wall by the fiber ends at the surface,but which does not appreciably penetrate the fibrous structure itself.The fibrous body of the container is preferably made of well sized pulpwhich may be molded into a single piece in a suitablemold so as to avoidany seams. I also preferably protect the container by coating the outersurface with a. film of moistureand oil-resistant material, such filmbeing preferably applied to the surface in such a vman- (Cl. 22S-3.5)

ner as not to penetrate appreciably into the fibrous body.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be hadto the description thereof which follows and to the drawing in whichFigure 1 is a perspective view of a fiber bottle embodying theinvention. p

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

While the invention may be embodied in containers of various sizes andshapes for oil, grease, or the like, a bottl suitable for dispensinglubricating oil in retail quantities is illustrated on the drawing. Thisbottle may be, for example, of a size to hold one quart of oil. rI`hebody portion 10 of the bottle is preferably of some cheap, lightweightmaterial such as-paper pulp. The bottle may be made by forming sheets offelted pulp into suitable shape, as has been previously done, or may beformed by molding the pulp directly from an aqueous suspension thereof.within a suitable mold having the shape of the container itself. Moldedarticles of this type have a fairly smooth exterior surface by reason ofthe formation of the outer surface of the article against the surface ofthe screen in the mold. The inner surface of the molded article isusually somewhat uneven due. to slight irregularities of local behaviorof the pulp stock when it is being deposited on the inner surface of thescreen during the molding operation. The molded article is preferablymade of suitable pulp well sized with about 5%, more or less, of anysuitable sizing material. When the fiber body of the molded article hasbeen dried, it may be coated on its inner surface with an oil-proofsubstance such as a mixture of r glue and glycerine. Such a substancemay be prepared by soaking 60 parts of glue in sufficient water tosoften it, heating the'soft glue to melt it, adding enough water tobring the water content up to 60 parts, stirring in 40 parts ofglycerine, heating and adding approximately 120 parts of water, thenowing the mixture into the molded fiber container, and allowing theexcess to drain out by gravity, leaving a complete .film of theglue-glycerine mixture covering the form of a flexible film 11 which isnot subject to cracking. Thus the container may be filled withlubricating oil or the like without danger of any of the oil soakinginto the fibrous structure of the container. Furthermore, otheroil-proof substances may be employed instead of the mixture describedabove by way of example. Any material or composition yielding a filmimpervious to oil can be used in a similar way. Such materialsregularities of the somewhat uneven inner surface of the moldedcontainer. This unevenness, coupled with the low coefficient of adhesionof oil to a glue-glycerine surface results in a rapid draining of allbut a relatively small percentage of the oil from a coated container ofthe kindv described. The drainage of the oil may be further facilitatedby the provision of an air relief vent. To this end, the container maybe molded with an inwardly projecting boss on its bottom or side wall.Such a boss 12 in the bottom is shown on the drawing. This boss, whichforms a depression or indentation in the outer surface of the bottom,acts as a guide for a piercing tool which may be used to punch an airvent in the bottom when the container is inverted to discharge itscontents. If desired, the container may be molded in such a way as tocause the boss to be formed with a smaller wall thickness than theremainder of the bottom of the container to facilitate the penetrationof the punching tool therethrough.

In order to protect the container from deterioration by absorption ofmoisture, oil, etc., through the outside surface, I preferably coat suchsurface vwith a suitable protective film 13, this film being designed torender the container reasonably moisture and oil proof. This protectivecoating may be additionally employed as an adhesive by which advertisinglabels or the like may be stuck to the sides`of the container. This filmmay be applied by dipping the container into a suitable bath of coatingmaterial or by brushing or spraying the material onto the outer surfacewhere it hardens to form a protective outer coating. The coatingmaterial may comprise an aqueous solution of casein or the likecontaining ammonia and formaldehyde. For example, 10 parts of casein maybe dissolved in 60 parts of water with the-aid of 5 parts of ammonia,and 1 part of formaldehyde may be added. If desired, other materials,such as paint, varnish, lacquer, etc., can be employed for the samepurpose, such materials being applied to the surface in a manner to forma flexible film on the surface of the container without penetrating thefiber body appreciably. This prevents the possibility of individualfiber e'nds projecting through the film. It is important that no fiberends project through either the inner lm or the outer film, as suchfibers form channels for the ingress of moisture, oil, or other liquidsl which may come in contact therewith. If desired, the protectivematerial used for the outer film or coating may be made of differentcolors by the use of suitable pigments, and may be applied in such a wayas to form designs, lettering, or the like, in addition to acting as aprotective coating.

Fiber bottles of the type described may be made substantiallynon-reflllable, so that, when once used, they must be discarded. Thus acustomer can be reasonably sure that he is purchasing an originalpackage and that the oil purchased is in accordance with the marking onthe bottle.

To this end, the mouth of the bottle may be closed by a metal cap 1.5having a central portion 16 fitted into the mouth of the bottle. Thecentral portion 16 is surrounded by a marginal portion 18, the edge ofwhich is curled around the lip of the bottle and caused to penetrateinto fthe wallI of the bottle as at 19. It is practically 4impossible toremove such a cap, when its marginal edge is thus embedded in the berwall, without injuring the adjacent fiber to such an extent that the capcannot be replaced. When the bottle is to be emptied, the cap may beripped ofi' by any suitable tool which preferably includes a punch to beused in pricking a vent hole through the boss 12 when the bottle hasbeen inverted.

It is evident that various modifications and changes may be made in thedetails of structure illustrated and described herein without departingfrom the spirit or'scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims. f

I claim:-

1. A hollow oil container having an uneven interior surfacecharacterized by small elevations and depressions, and a continuousflexible film of substantially uniform thickness of oil-proof substancecoating said interior surface and following said elevations anddepressions, the bottom of said container having a small boss moldedtherein to project upwardly.

2. An article of the class described, comprising a hollow oil containerof sized pulp fiber wetmolded to shape, said container having anonsmooth interior surface, and a glue-glycerine film of' substantiallyuniform thickness covering the entire said inner surface and followingthe unevenness thereof, the bottom of said container having a small bossmolded therein to project upwardly.

3. A hollow oil container of molded fiber having an uneven oil-proofinterior surface characterized by small elevations and depressions, thebottom of said container being formed with'an inwardly projecting bossresulting in an indentation in the exterior surface of said bottom.

4. A hollow oil container of molded fiber having an uneven oil-proofinterior surface and a small indentation formed in its bottom tofacilitate puncturing the bottom by a suitable tool, and

